Okay, confession time. I was actually supposed to write an article on how to survive your first Christmas away from home today, but since we already have a similar article on file (and also because I’m feeling a little gloomy myself), I figured I’d opt for something less depressing this time.

So, to distract those of us feeling the doldrums just as the festivities are going into full swing, here’s a handful of Christmas trivia that might surprise you:

Jesus Christ probably wasn’t born in December.

Most historians posit that Jesus Christ was actually born in the springtime, and Christmas didn’t even become an official holiday until the third century. Furthermore, there is no mention of December 25 in the Bible. Go on, check it if you don’t believe me. (On another note, the Bible never specified the apple as the fruit that caused Adam and Eve to be driven away from Eden, but I digress.)

Santa Claus was based on an early Christian bishop who was known for his generosity, but the original St. Nicholas probably looked nothing like a jolly, overweight old man in a red suit.

Back in 1931, Coca-Cola hired Haddon Sundblom to illustrate images of Santa Claus for their magazine advertisements. Clearly, stern-faced saints from the first century don’t exactly entice customers, so the warm and friendly Father Christmas figure that we recognize today was born.

Hanging stockings as a tradition began by accident.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Speaking of St. Nicholas, one of the most famous stories about him involves saving a poor man’s three daughters from prostitution. As their father couldn’t afford dowries for his children, St. Nick supposedly dropped a bag of gold down their chimney one night to remedy the situation.

The gold, however, fell into a stocking that was drying by the fire. Whoops.

Hence, people started hanging stockings in the hope that some generous soul will drop a sack of coins in it. Oh, well.

Many Christmas traditions have pagan roots.

Sure, Christians have made the holiday pretty much their own, but that’s not to say they didn’t borrow heavily from pre-existing rituals. We’ve already mentioned how the pagan feast of Saturnalia figured into when and how we celebrate Christmas, so let’s look into another well-loved tradition: the Christmas tree.

Japanese people traditionally eat KFC Chicken for their Christmas dinner.

Image Credit: Sangbe

Thanks to a kick-ass marketing campaign four decades ago, the Japanese have come to associate the fast-food chicken joint with Christmas (even if they’re not exactly big on the holiday, as they’re not a predominantly Catholic country) , so much so that customers typically place their orders up to two months in advance.

A waiting list for KFC Chicken. Imagine that.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is considered to be the most popular Christmas song.

……and you sang that in your head just now, didn’t you?

“”Home Alone” remains the highest-grossing Christmas film of all time.

There you have it, ten nuggets of trivia just in time for the holidays. You can now either proceed to best your loved ones at Trivial Pursuit or simply deploy any or all of these to change the subject whenever that nosy aunt or uncle of yours asks about your (non-existent) marriage plans.

Hohoho.

Subscribe Now

Get the latest content straight to your inbox.

*Invalid email address.

Spread the word!

Serena joined Remit back in 2016, and has tormented its Marketing Head constantly ever since. To get through the rigors of writing about grave concerns like exchange rates, citizenship requirements, and PH-AU news, she likes to blast Mozart, Vivaldi, ONE OK ROCK, and Shigeru Umebayashi in the background. She does a mean Merida voice in her spare time too.